In recent years, an electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, a fuel-cell vehicle and the like have attracted attention as an environmentally-friendly vehicle. These vehicles each are equipped with an electric motor generating a driving force for running and a power storage device storing electric power supplied to the electric motor.
The technique for charging the power storage device mounted in each of these vehicles by the power supply external to the vehicle is currently proposed. According to this technique, for example, the wall socket provided in a house and the inlet provided in the vehicle are connected via a charging cable, which allows the power storage device mounted in the vehicle to be charged by a household power supply. The vehicle capable of running with the electric power supplied from the power supply external to the vehicle will be hereinafter referred to as a “plug-in vehicle”.
According to Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2007-236172 (Patent Literature 1), in the case where the power storage device mounted in a plug-in vehicle is charged by an external power supply, it takes a relatively long time to charge the power storage device as compared with the case where gasoline is supplied to a gasoline-powered vehicle. Accordingly, it is highly likely that the user is away from the vehicle at the time when charging of the power storage device is started. In this case, however, there are possibilities that the charging cable may be removed from the vehicle, and furthermore, the charging cable may be stolen.
The power supply device and the electrical device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2007-236172 include a power transmitting and receiving unit, and a connector capable of connecting a cable for electric power transmission and reception between the power transmitting and receiving unit and the electrical device external to the vehicle. A connection unit includes a lock mechanism locking the cable in the state where it is connected to the connector. The lock mechanism can be unlocked by a vehicle key.
Usually, the owner of the vehicle possesses a vehicle key. Accordingly, the above-described configuration can prevent a person other than the owner of the vehicle from removing the cable from the vehicle.